ResearchPod

Since its adoption in 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has become the most widely ratified treaty in history. One of the underlying principles enshrined throughout the Convention is adult respect for children’s views.

Professor Richard Mitchell argues the climate strikes and political activism inspired by Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, and Salvador Gómez-Colón among others, represents an unprecedented human rights-based phenomenon, and one that emphasises millions of young women in leadership roles.

Hear more about his research here, and read the original article at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2019.1698235

The Synthesis Center, a unique institutional experiment at Arizona State University created by Professor Sha Xin Wei, brings like minds together to explore the interface between media arts, the environment, engineering and technology.

With the potential for global social impact, the results generate significant insights into how we interact with technology.

Learn more about the The Synthesis Centre here and here, and find more from Prof Wei at his ASU staff page.

Dr Farzan Beroz developed a physical theory of sensing that predicts cell behaviour.

Cells are continuously exposed to mechanical stimuli from their surroundings, causing stresses that can guide cell behaviours throughout development, movement and healing. To ensure normal function, the bodies cells and their microenvironment constantly engage in a reciprocal and dynamic dialogue with one another - Mechanosensing.

Dr Beroz' findings establish a model of cell behaviour and inspire novel ways to engineer high precision sensors.

Read more in Research Outreach.
Find the original article at:  https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41467-020-18995-4

The rising trends of e-cigarette use pose a new problem for regulators and healthcare providers: who is vaping, and how much nicotine. are they getting?

Among many different brands, formulations, devices and behaviours, Ian Jones presents data from a sweeping review to determine the scientific underpinnings to how much is known, and is left to know, about the the typical puff.

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.12.016

Low-cost accessible space technologies are necessary to fulfil the promise of the “New Space” revolution and open the door to space exploration to everyone.

In order to lower the cost of spacecraft propulsion, Dulce Máximo from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in México and Luis Fernando Velásquez-García from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report on the first 3D-printed electrospray thrusters to be used in nanosatellites. Not only are these cheaper and quicker to manufacture, but they also use propellant fuel very efficiently. This important development is a significant contribution to the democratisation of nanosatellite propulsion technology.

Read more about their work in Research Outreach.
Read the original article at:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101719

Rheumatic heart disease is the most common acquired heart disease in children and adolescents, and is disproportionately prevalent in marginalised communities across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

Prof Thomas Pilgrim, Dr Prahlad Karki, and colleagues at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Nepal report on the successes,  costs, and challenges of detecting early stages of rheumatic heart disease among children with echocardiographic screening followed by timely treatment with antibiotic prevention.

Read the original article: doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2020.7050

Dr Cleve Hicks from the University of Warsaw in Poland has been observing a special group of chimpanzees that have developed their own customs and traditions.
 
Despite the logistical difficulties involved in reaching a remote part of DR Congo , as well as the ever-present threat of malaria and the dangers of armed conflict, Hicks and his team managed to document how these chimpanzees live – including tool making, feeding habits and sleeping style.   

Read the original article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00149-4

In Is Russia Fascist?  (Cornell University Press), author Marlene Laruelle argues that the charge of "fascism" has become a strategic narrative of the current world order. The ruling Russian regime has increasingly been accused of embracing fascism, supposedly evidenced by Russia's annexation of Crimea, its historical revisionism, attacks on liberal democratic values, and its support for far-right movements in Europe. But at the same time, Russia has branded itself as the world's preeminent antifascist power because of its sacrifices during the Second World War, while emphasizing how opponents to the Soviet Union in Central and Eastern Europe collaborated with Nazi Germany.

By labeling ideological opponents as fascist, regardless of their actual values or actions, geopolitical rivals are able to frame their own vision of the world and claim the moral high ground. Through a detailed examination of the Russian domestic scene and the Kremlin's foreign policy rationales, Laruelle disentangles the foundation for, meaning, and validity of accusations of fascism in and around Russia.

Buy Is Russia Fascist? now from:
Cornell University Press: bit.ly/rpodrussia
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1501754130

Join the author and experts in discussion on March 26th 2021: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/142568605537

Advances in modern surgery have been dependent upon advances in anaesthetic management. However, anaesthesia can have detrimental effects, as it is usually associated with reduced blood pressure, cardiac output and oxygen delivery.

 Drs Green and O’Brien have looked at how the use of intraoperative monitoring and management protocols can mitigate some of the deleterious effects of anaesthesia on the circulation.

Read more about their work in Research Outreach, or find the original article at: https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/aew203

Despite advances in the education of women and girls worldwide, UNICEF reported in 2020 that female students still lag behind in terms of access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Dr Lu Wang, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at Ball State University, Indiana,  brings together research and theory on the subjects of gender, spatial ability, math anxiety and math achievement.  Her conclusions on the role of spatial ability could be crucial to future policy making to improve access to STEM courses and careers for female students.

Read the original article:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09487-z